Everything Changed
by autumn midnights
Summary: Morag MacDougal, from her Sorting to the Battle of Hogwarts. 'She doesn't know what happens next, but now, she knows what she wants, and she won't be afraid to go for it'. No pairings, really. Morag-centric. Rated T for language and mentions of torture.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. _

_Author's Note: Written for the Unknown Character Competition (Morag MacDougal), Head!Canon Boot Camp Challenge (prompt: Yule Ball), Harry Potter Spells Competition (Protego: Write about the D.A.), and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Competition (Deflagration Deluxe - 2000 words or more), all on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum._

* * *

Her initial thought upon seeing the Sorting Hat is that it really doesn't look like much. In fact, it looks mangy and old, like something found in the dustbin of an antique store, too ratty even for an antique store to consider useful. The hat's nearly a thousand years old - and it sure as hell looks it.

Morag watches as Su Li, the girl she befriended on the train hours before, is Sorted into Ravenclaw, looking surprised but pleased as she makes her way over to that table as the students politely applaud. When 'Longbottom, Neville' is finally Sorted into Gryffindor, he starts to head over to the red-and-gold table, the Sorting Hat still perched above his pink, round face, and Professor McGonagall has to call him back before calling out, "MacDougal, Morag."

She hurries up, sitting on the stool, silently thankful that she didn't trip or fall on her face or do anything completely idiotic in front of the whole population of Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall places the hat on top of Morag's head, and it speaks directly into her mind. '_Hmm, you're an interesting one,' _it says - thinks - whatever. '_I certainly wouldn't say you're a Hufflepuff; you don't have enough patience or the ability to put up with hard work. You do have a certain cunning and ambition to you, like a Slytherin, and also a certain bravery, like a Gryffindor. However, you are very clever and strategical, and I would say that would be nurtured best in RAVENCLAW!' _

The hat screams the word out to the whole Great Hall, and Morag breathes a sigh of relief. Her parents had told her beforehand that it didn't truly matter what House she was placed in, as there were successful people from all four Houses. Both of them were in Ravenclaw, though. Now, at least, she won't have to worry about them being iffy about her House; she knows they'll accept one of their own.

She slides off the stool, and Professor McGonagall takes the Sorting Hat back as the Ravenclaw table bursts into applause. Su Li stands on the bench where everyone else is sitting, applauding louder than anybody else, and Morag can't help but smile as she makes her way there. She thinks she's finally found her home.

o0o0o0o0o

"So Harry bloody Potter got on the freaking Gryffindor team," Su Li says, much to the obvious dismay of Padma. After the few months spent living with these girls - as well as Lisa and Mandy - Morag has gotten used to both Su's constant use of bad language and Padma's disapproval for said language. Su and Padma get along, though - mostly.

"Yeah, he did." Morag flops onto her bed, sinking onto the soft mattress. "Why does it matter?"

"Well, first years never make the teams," Padma explains. "I don't think they're really supposed to, to be honest, but I guess what he did was good enough for them to get rid of that rule for a little while."

Su groans, punching her pillow. "Well, can't they waive the rule long enough for me to get on the bloody Ravenclaw team? I know I'm a fair Chaser."

Padma raises her eyebrows, exchanging a glance with Morag. "Does the Ravenclaw Quidditch team even need a Chaser right now?"

"I don't know!" Su looks up at the ceiling. "But I hate the idea of waiting until I'm older - I've only got seven years at Hogwarts, y'know, and I highly doubt I could make it as a professional Quidditch player. I need to get my Quidditch-playing time in during Hogwarts." She groans. "And this stupid first-year rule is getting in my way."

"I'm sure you'll make the team," Morag says, trying to reassure her friend. "I've seen you at flying lessons - you're pretty good."

Su makes a face. "It's not just making the team - it's making the team sometime relatively soon. What does it matter if I only have a couple years playing on it?" With that, she falls backward onto her bed, staring up and refusing to change her stance on the issue, which was obviously very important to her.

o0o0o0o0o

Most of Morag's first year is a blur of "_Oh crap, how do I get to my classrooms again?" _and "_I hate those moving staircases_" and the new experience of staying up late only to finish homework that should have been done days ago. She goes home for Christmas and Easter holidays, but regrets it; her parents are barely-there as usual, dropping her and her sister Katrina off at old Mrs. MacPherson's house again so that they can go to their oh-so-important Ministry jobs. Katrina's sulky and nervous, because she's seven-almost-eight and she still hasn't shown any signs of magic, and Morag's forced to reassure her sister that everything is all right and she'll be fine.

She's glad to go back to Hogwarts after that, to get away from absent parents, an old woman who won't stop complaining about her various ailments, and a possibly-Squib sister. Even Hogwarts, with its chaos and confusion, is preferable to being back there. The other Ravenclaws in her year - Padma, Lisa, Su, Mandy, Michael, Anthony, Terry, Kevin, and Stephen - have all formed a tight-knit group, of which Morag is an essential part of, and it feels so amazing to her to have real friends, to have nine people that she can talk to and laugh with.

One morning at the end of the year, she goes down to the Great Hall to find everyone in chatter about Harry Potter, Professor Quirrell, and You-Know-Who. It takes a while before Morag finds out the whole story, and once she does, she can't help but count herself among those people who are impressed. It is impressive, after all; Harry's only her age, and he survived a confrontation with the Darkest wizard of the time. She wonders what would have happened if it had been her in his shoes, and then decides she probably doesn't want to know.

o0o0o0o0o

The summer between first and second year turns out just like the holidays.

Morag and her sister are once again brought to Mrs. MacPherson's house every day, from eight in the morning until the early evening; once they get home, Katrina goes to bed and Morag works on the homework she has to finish by September first. She barely has a chance to talk to her parents, and she wonders if she ever did have a real conversation with either of them. She's been dropped off at Mrs. MacPherson's house every day for as long as she can remember.

Katrina's passed mere sulking and nervousness at this point; she's moved to full-on freaking out about potentially being a Squib. Mrs. MacPherson - who is a Muggle, although she married a Muggle-born wizard and knows about the Wizarding world - is old enough to snap "Children should be seen, and not heard" whenever Katrina starts worrying out loud. Morag tries to comfort her sister, but she knows she's not particularly good at it; she's twelve years old, after all, and she doesn't know what to say.

She's glad when September first arrives and she can leave. She feels bad for leaving Katrina there to deal with such a major issue by herself, but there's nothing Morag can do. Hogwarts is, in its own way, simpler than being home.

o0o0o0o0o

Morag isn't one of the girls who fawns over Gilderoy Lockhart.

She knows that many of the girls in her year - Padma's sister Parvati, Hermione Granger, Megan Jones, and many others - do. Even Mandy and Lisa fawn over Lockhart, which annoys Morag, Su, and Padma to no end. Padma is simply not romantically interested in anybody, and Su and Morag find Lockhart to be a complete idiot.

She can't deny that he's handsome, but it ends there. Even ignoring the fact that he's at least twenty years her senior, the bloke is an arrogant, vain idiot. He doesn't know Defense Against the Dark Arts well, and he thinks that he is the most awesome person in the entire world. He annoys Morag to no end, and she and Su - and occasionally Padma - enjoy complaining about Lockhart.

Everything seems completely normal, and Morag's getting used to Hogwarts better now. She knows her way around better than she did last year, and she can navigate through the moving staircases and trick walls. She knows she's finally found her home here, amongst her close friends.

o0o0o0o0o

Everything's normal...until it isn't.

Morag is nervous about the Chamber of Secrets being opened. She feels slightly protected because of her pureblood status - even though she's pureblood by a narrow definition of the word - but still, the thought of some monster roaming the school isn't a pleasant one. She's scared for Muggle-borns Lisa and Stephen, who are at the most risk, and she spends a lot of time worrying that they're going to be attacked.

The school is in a panic; everybody's worrying, both for themselves and for Muggle-born friends, and there's talk of closing the school. She doesn't want that to happen. Hogwarts is her home, and she doesn't want to have to leave. But with people being Petrified, and no one able to find out who or what is behind the attacks (even though many people suspect it's Harry Potter), it doesn't feel as much like a home as it did in September.

Su jokes, "Maybe Harry Potter will save the day like he did last year." Morag chuckles, and wishes such a thing actually would happen, but she knows it couldn't. There's no way a twelve-year-old could handle the Heir of Slytherin or Slytherin's monster. It isn't possible.

Then it happens, and she can't help but be impressed by him once again.

o0o0o0o0o

"Why can't I do magic?" Katrina screams at their parents, and Morag lets a quiet sigh escape her as she stares down at the History of Magic book she's trying to read. "This is all your fault!" she shouts. Morag lets her head tip backwards, staring up at the ceiling. Katrina and their parents are in the kitchen; Morag's in the living room trying to study, but it's impossible to.

They just got home from work, and already Katrina's making a fuss. Morag can understand her concerns - the girl is nine years old and still hasn't shown any signs of magic - but she's acting out, yelling at them and making it impossible for her to get any work done. She collects her books and goes up to her room, trying to block out the noise of her parents' tired voices and her sister's angry one.

o0o0o0o0o

Everyone is talking about the escape of Sirius Black, and Morag's just as shocked as everybody else. Azkaban was supposed to be the most secure Wizarding prison. Guarded by Dementors, set on an island in the middle of nowhere...how did he escape?

"Something's happening every single year," Morag points out to the other Ravenclaws in her year when they're in the common room one night. "First the situation with Quirrell and You-Know-Who, then the Chamber of Secrets, now this."

"Five Galleons says that Harry bloody Potter will be involved in this by the end of the year," Su says, holding out her hand. "Anybody want to challenge me on that?"

"I will," Michael says, a slightly arrogant note in his voice. "I mean, there's just no way that the same person - even if it is the Boy-Who-Lived - can have something happen to him every single year. He's bound to have a normal year."

o0o0o0o0o

Michael pays Su five Galleons.

Morag is shocked to learn that Remus Lupin is a werewolf. He's always seemed so...nice. So normal. He isn't like she expected a werewolf to be; whenever she thinks of werewolves, she thinks of wild, uncombed hair and yellow teeth, unhygienic people running in packs. Not shabby professors. She's disappointed, also, since he was the best damn Defense teacher they've had so far. Quirrell was a nervous idiot (who had You-Know-Who sharing his head) and Lockhart was a vain idiot, but Professor Lupin was a good teacher.

"Every year," Morag says to the others, "something happens to Harry Potter. And every year, we get a new Defense teacher."

"The position's cursed," Mandy says quietly, looking up from the book she's reading. It's one of the few times that Mandy has actually spoken without someone directly addressing her. Everyone shuts up and looks over at her. "Every year, we get a new professor. It's been that way for a while now."

There's a brief silence, and then everyone resumes their conversations. What's done is done, and they have the summer to look forward to.

o0o0o0o0o

_Dear Su,_

_Please let me stay with you for a while. Yeah, I'm being forward, but guess what? My sister's a bloody Squib, I'm sure of it - she's ten and hasn't done magic yet. And she won't stop complaining about it. I mean, I understand her. It would really suck to not be able to do magic. And it also really sucks to have to listen to it all the freaking time. Plus, she kind of seems to hate my guts because I get to go to Hogwarts. _

_Sincerely, Morag_

_Dear Morag,_

_See you soon. The parents said it was fine._

_-Su_

o0o0o0o0o

Su's house is crazy. She has three younger brothers, all under the age of eleven, all whom delight in bothering Su. After only a couple days, they begin to include Morag in the bothering sessions, but she doesn't completely mind. At least she's not at home. Su's parents never seem to be home at the same time - her mother works from eight to five and her father works from five to midnight - but there's always an adult home, always a loving parent to be there for the children.

Morag loves staying there. Su and her have a wonderful time. The Lis have a huge backyard, and they're so far apart from their neighbors that Morag and Su are allowed to ride broomsticks as long as they don't go overly high. The yard is perfect for playing with the younger brothers, and Morag begins accompanying Su on her evening jogs around the property.

She discovers that she loves to run, that she sucks at Quidditch but is a decent flier, and that she never wants to leave.

o0o0o0o0o

The news about the Triwizard Tournament would be more exciting if it wasn't just for seventeen-year-olds.

Morag isn't even sure if she would actually compete if she could. She's not sure if she would be able to work up the courage to drop her name in and know that there was no going back. She doesn't know what the tasks are, but they would be arduous, and she doesn't know if she could do that. She does know, though, that it would be more interesting if younger students could compete. She barely knows any of the older students - her close friends are the nine Ravenclaws in her year, and her acquaintances are the other people in her year. It's not going to be as interesting watching people she doesn't know well competing.

Then, of course, Harry Potter gets involved - of course! - and the Triwizard Tournament becomes a hell of a lot more interesting.

o0o0o0o0o

"Morag," Lisa says one day, when the two girls are alone in the dormitory, "do you think Cedric Diggory is attractive?"

Morag looks up from the book she's trying to read. "He's not bad-looking, I suppose. Why?"

"I think I fancy him."

She really doesn't want to have this conversation. She's got about as much experience with romance as she does with Quidditch, and she really doesn't want to get into this. "All right," she says. "So have you ever actually met him?"

"No," Lisa says sadly, and then explains herself. "It's like when people fancy a celebrity - admiration from afar, you know?" Morag's silent - how does one respond to that? - and Lisa continues. "So who do you fancy?"

"Blaise Zabini's nice to look at," Morag responds idly, "but he's a Slytherin and probably really obnoxious."

"You're a pureblood," Lisa points out. "He'd probably consent to date you."

Morag rolls her eyes and returns to her book.

o0o0o0o0o

She's at the Yule Ball with Michael Corner, but it's almost like she went by herself. He's alternating between talking to Ginny Weasley at the refreshments table and staring at Ginny Weasley as she dances with Neville Longbottom. He only danced with Morag once, and the whole time, he was looking at Ginny. She knows that Michael doesn't fancy her, and she's perfectly fine with that; they only ever went to this as friends. It is a little annoying, though, how he's completely ignored her in favor of Ginny, who he hasn't even talked about.

Padma comes over to sit beside her, nudging Michael out of the way. "Not as perfect as everyone thought, huh?" she says quietly. "Ron didn't dance with me - he spent the whole time just talking with Harry. And I can see Michael isn't being the greatest date, either."

Michael finally tears his eyes away from the youngest Weasley. "I'm right here, you know!"

"Yeah, and you're not being the greatest date," Morag says. "C'mon, Padma - there's a bunch of girls over there without dates, dancing in a group. Better than nothing."

They make their way over there, leaving their dates to stew.

o0o0o0o0o

Every single year.

Every single freaking year.

Is there ever going to be a year, Morag wonders, where Harry Potter doesn't find himself in the middle of something?

This, though, beats everything. What happened at the end of this year beats Quirrell-You-Know-Who and the Chamber of Secrets and Sirius Black. This year, he returned from the third task clutching the dead body of Cedric Diggory. This year, he returned from the third task claiming You-Know-Who was back. Not just possessing someone, like in first year, or a weird memory-thing, like second year.

Completely, totally alive and back.

Morag sits in the dormitory, on her bed. She's supposed to be packing, but she can't help thinking about all that went on with Harry Potter.

He's back. You-Know-Who is back.

Supposedly.

o0o0o0o0o

"Do you know that Harry Potter?" Morag's mother asks one night. Katrina's upstairs, locked in her room and refusing to come out for whatever reason.

"He's in my year," Morag responds, opening the refrigerator and looking inside. "I'm not close with him, though."

"Good," her father pipes up. "I'd advise you not to become close with him. There's rumors that Potter isn't completely mentally stable, and if that's true, it would be a bad thing if you were to be seen hanging around with him too much - it might cause you to have difficulty finding a good Ministry job. Don't go around supporting Potter." Morag's about to say something snarky, along the lines of 'Oh, so I should go around supporting You-Know-Who?', but her father continues before she can. "Don't go around supporting anybody. Let yourself remain completely neutral in view of everyone else - it'll keep you out of trouble."

"That's what we did," her mother says, "and look, we have very comfortable positions in the Ministry."

"Not to mention, it's your OWL year," says Morag's father. "Focus completely on your schoolwork this year - good OWLs mean a good job."

Morag nods, agreeing with them, but internally she sighs. She doesn't even know what she wants to do, but she's pretty sure that she doesn't want to become a copy of her parents.

o0o0o0o0o

She hates Dolores Umbridge with every fiber of her being. The woman is a toad dressed in pink, officially the worst teacher they've ever had. Morag hates Umbridge even more than she hates Snape, and even more than she hated Lockhart. She and Su frequently bash Umbridge whenever they're alone, using words that would make Padma and Lisa cringe.

Eventually, everyone knows about the appalling detentions Umbridge gives out, and that makes everything even worse. That's not detention - that's torture, plain and simple. Umbridge - occasionally called Umbitch by Morag and Su when they don't think they'll be overheard - needs to go, but no one knows how to do it. She's sent straight from the Ministry of Magic, and she's got power.

Umbridge needs to go to Azkaban; after all, torturing students for detention can't be legal. Morag knows this, but she also knows that it won't happen, not as long as Fudge is Minister. She wonders what'll happen to Umbridge, and fantasizes about the day when the Aurors come and drag that wretched woman away.

It's the first time she considers becoming an Auror, but she dismisses the thought.

o0o0o0o0o

She notices Padma, Michael, Anthony, and Terry acting weird, but she tries not to focus on it too much. OWL year is stressful enough as it is, and she has other things to worry about - mainly, an insane amount of studying. Every single professor seems to have doubled the workload from last year, and even a Ravenclaw student like Morag has difficulty getting everything done. She's up late almost every single night doing work, running on six hours of sleep or less every day, and the others aren't that much better off.

At some point, she meets with Professor Flitwick to discuss possible careers. "Miss MacDougal, do you know what you'd like to do after you leave Hogwarts?" he asks, looking over the top of his desk at her.

"Not really," she says, and he frowns slightly. She continues, simply to placate him. "My parents want me to go into the Ministry and get some office job. I don't really think I want to do that, but I'm not totally sure what I want to do instead." It's the first time she's actually admitted to someone that she doesn't want to be like her parents, with a cushy office job at the Ministry, and it feels good to say it.

"Well, if you aren't sure, here's some pamphlets," he says, pushing a pile of them across the desk. "I'd advise you to take a look - each pamphlet talks about a different job, and it has the course requirements for each job. If you're still not sure after that, I would simply advise you to try your hardest on all your OWLs, and next year, take whatever courses you passed."

"Sounds like a plan," Morag says, and leaves the office.

o0o0o0o0o

"What is it with Harry freaking Potter?" Su says, shutting the compartment door behind her. "Every single effing year, there's something. I mean, he went to the Ministry and fought Death Eaters! What are bloody Death Eaters doing at the Ministry?"

"Fighting with Harry Potter," Morag replies, unable to resist the comment. Padma and Lisa snort. Mandy, buried in a book, either doesn't hear or doesn't care, and Su simply rolls her eyes.

"Seriously, what's next?" Su says. "I mean, You-Know-Who's really back, everyone knows that now - it's not just Harry making stuff up. What'll happen next year?"

"We probably don't want to know." Padma looks out the window as Hogsmeade disappears behind them.

o0o0o0o0o

Morag's eyes scan the parchment. She passed Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, and Divination. She failed History of Magic, Astronomy, and Ancient Runes, but those don't matter; she's just happy she passed the more important things. Her A in Divination was mostly attributed to her talent for making everything up - a skill she had finely honed with Su. She's tempted to continue it, just to have more fun making stuff up, but decides against it.

Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and Herbology.

It sounds like the course requirements to be an Auror. Once again she thinks about it - Aurors need five NEWTs, four of which have to be those first four subjects she mentioned - but once again she shakes away the thought. She couldn't be an Auror. It's too demanding and too dangerous. It's not neutral, like her parents always want her to strive to be.

She looks at the parchment again, wondering if she should go for it.

o0o0o0o0o

Padma and Terry start dating. Michael is dating Cho Chang, in the year above them. Anthony keeps staring at Susan Bones whenever they're in the same area. Kevin and Su banter, and Morag can't decide if it's like sibling banter or flirty banter. Everybody seems to be going out with someone - or fancying someone - and Morag thinks they're all being ridiculous.

She's not completely immune to the opposite gender; she notices who's attractive and who isn't. She knows, though, that Hogwarts boys are completely immature and ridiculous - she hangs around Michael and Kevin often enough to know that - and the ones who actually have some degree of sense are either unavailable or not interesting.

Morag doesn't really want to date anyone in Hogwarts. She knows that Hogwarts relationships don't usually work; the ones that last are the exceptions. Ignoring the fact that most of the Hogwarts boys are not people that Morag considers possible candidates for a relationship, Hogwarts simply isn't a good environment to date in. There's no space; people see one another every single day, something that's intensified if the two people are in the same year or same House. There's way too many rumormongers, also, and gossip runs through Hogwarts impossibly fast. She doesn't want to be the subject of that, and so she flies below the radar, looking but not touching.

She thinks of herself as the only sane person in a crowd of lunatics sometimes.

o0o0o0o0o

It's an interesting dynamic, Snape as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. There's no denying that he's very knowledgeable about the subject, just as he was when he taught Potions, but he still favors his Slytherins over everyone else. He's slightly fairer to the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs than he is to the Gryffindors - everyone knows he hates Harry Potter most of all - but he isn't kind, by no means, to them either.

Professor Slughorn's Potions classes are more enjoyable than Snape's were. Morag comes out of every class with him thinking that; he's generally kind to the students, and he doesn't snap and give out detentions on a whim. Her Potions scores rise, even with the more difficult material. Even with Harry Potter being the star of the class - something Morag is very suspicious of, considering his untalented-ness at Potions before this year - she does all right, and she has a feeling she'll pass and be able to take seventh year Potions as well.

Everything is going almost perfect, apart from a few weird incidents - Katie Bell and Ron Weasley's near-deaths - and everyone obsessing over dating people. It's turning out to be one of the best years Morag has had at Hogwarts.

Then, in one night, everything crashes down.

o0o0o0o0o

Dumbledore is dead.

It's impossible to fathom, Dumbledore being dead. He is - _was_, Morag forces herself to think - one of the greatest wizards of all time. She's always seen him as, if not all-powerful, than extremely close to it. It is difficult to believe that he was murdered by Snape on the Astronomy Tower, and she can't help but wonder what exactly was going on there. The version of the tale that the students get isn't as detailed as she wants.

It's even worse to know that Snape got away. The bastard got away with murder. It's even worse to know that there were people up and about; apparently Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts, and several teachers and students (including Harry Potter, of course - another Big End-Of-Year Event involving him, no surprise there) fought them. No one was able to stop Snape, though. None of the Aurors guarding Hogwarts, none of the students fighting, none of the teachers fighting...nobody.

She feels so much hatred for Snape. It isn't as though Morag was close to Dumbledore; she never actually talked to him one-on-one or anything of the sort. He was a constant, though, someone who provided a wise presence for Hogwarts to look up to. She can't imagine how Snape could have looked at Dumbledore and killed him in cold blood. She doesn't know how anyone could kill someone in cold blood.

Now, Snape is on the run; he's somewhere, hiding out. The Aurors so far haven't been able to find him, and it annoys her to no end. He needs to be brought to justice. He needs to pay for what he's done.

Once again, she considers being an Auror. Wouldn't it feel wonderful to know that people won't get away with doing horrible things like that? She thinks it would - and this time, she doesn't shake away the thought.

o0o0o0o0o

"Where's Lisa?" Morag asks as she steps into the compartment with Su, Mandy, and Padma. "I didn't see her anywhere on the train, and she always gets here early."

Su and Padma exchange a glance, and the train begins to move. Padma takes a deep breath. "Have you been getting the _Prophet_ recently?"

"No."

"Oh. Then you wouldn't have heard," Su says. "Muggle-borns...they can't attend Hogwarts anymore. With all that's going on...well, they're not allowed to, and Snape is Headmaster -"

"What?" Morag's voice rises to a shriek, and she staggers into a seat. "Snape? That murdering bastard is Headmaster? And Muggle-borns can't attend Hogwarts because their blood isn't 'pure'? That's complete bullshit - why, I'm going to go into Snape's office, and I'll tell him exactly that." She feels wild, reckless, and ready to do something crazy. There's no neutral, staying-out-of-trouble, keeping-her-head-down Morag anymore. She's going to do something this year, she knows it.

"I don't know if that's wise," Padma says simply, but leaves it at that.

o0o0o0o0o

Alecto Carrow is teaching Muggle Studies, Amycus Carrow is teaching Dark Arts, and Morag MacDougal hates the pair of them with a burning passion.

Students are getting tortured every time they receive a detention. It's worse than Umbitch's by far - they're using the Cruciatus Curse on every student who dared to sneak one toe out of line. It's barbaric and ruthless, and Morag despises them. She sees first years crying in the common room because of it; she sees older students completely beaten down, shadows of their former selves.

She sees it in her classmates; she sees how formerly-outgoing students like Parvati and Lavender are completely quiet, only exchanging glances. Even Su doesn't do anything wild, and because Su keeps her mouth shut, so does Morag. After all, if Su - who's always been bolder - doesn't dare to do anything to upset the Carrows, Morag doesn't think she wants to either.

A part of her wants to rebel. Most of her is too scared to.

o0o0o0o0o

"Is anybody awake?" Padma whispers one night. It's probably close to one in the morning, but Morag's awake. She pushes the curtains of the bed aside and peeks out.

"I am," she says quietly. "What is it, Pad?"

She can picture Padma rolling her eyes - Terry is the only one who's supposedly allowed to call her that, even though they broke up over the summer. "The D.A. is forming again," Padma responds. "You know, the group of students that met during fifth year. And I was wondering...you might want to join, maybe?" She sounds hesitant, as if she expects Morag to say no.

"Hell yes," Morag answers. "Secret meetings with a bunch of people who despise the Carrows? I'm in."

o0o0o0o0o

According to Padma, the D.A. this time around is much bigger. Nearly all the seventh years - minus the Slytherins - are in it, as well as a large majority of the fifth and sixth years, and even a few fourth years. They meet in the Room of Requirement - hands down the coolest place in Hogwarts, in Morag's opinion - sporadically, usually more than once a week, but never following any sort of schedule. One week they meet four times, the next week they meet only once, and it stays this way.

They communicate with coins, fake Galleons that heat up when a new message is being sent. Terry and Anthony have figured out how to perform the Protean Charm that allows them to make even more of the Galleons, until every member has one.

When she's in one of the Carrows' classes, Morag feels the coin in her pocket, closing her hand around it. It reassures her, making her understand that the Carrows may be in charge, but they don't have complete control. There are people still fighting.

o0o0o0o0o

She's scared to get detention, and she wonders if she could actually make it the whole year without doing so.

She tries to avoid it.

She fails in December.

There's a D.A. meeting that runs late - Neville says it's the last one before the holidays, even though there's four days left before they leave. They review almost everything they've learned so far, and so it's nearly midnight before they all sneak away from the Room of Requirement.

Morag creeps back to Ravenclaw Tower, sticking near the shadows and being as quiet as possible. Pansy Parkinson is patrolling, her footsteps just as quiet as Morag, and the girls quite literally bump into one another. Pansy's thrilled to have caught someone, and writes down what happened in a little notepad, which Morag knows will make its way to the Carrows.

The next day, Morag is summoned to the dungeons for detention, her first taste of the Cruciatus Curse.

There are no words to describe how painful it is, how it feels like white-hot knives piercing every inch of her. She twists and writhes on the floor, screaming, pleading for Alecto Carrow to stop it, knowing that relief won't come for a while.

She hates the Carrows even more after that.

o0o0o0o0o

Luna doesn't return after Christmas holidays, Ginny doesn't return after Easter holidays, and Neville takes complete control of the D.A..

Morag never would have expected anything like this out of Neville Longbottom, the boy who didn't seem to be talented at anything, the boy that Slytherins tormented. He's grown up now, just like all of them have; this year has made a man out of him. This year has made a man out of all the D.A. boys, truthfully, and a woman out of all the D.A. girls. She doesn't feel like an eighteen-year-old schoolgirl most of the time.

She feels like a young soldier in a war.

o0o0o0o0o

The war then officially comes to Hogwarts. You-Know-Who - oh, screw it, she'll think of him as Voldemort - wants Harry Potter, who for whatever reason is in Hogwarts, and all the D.A. wants to fight even though most of them are too young. All the young students, including the D.A. members who aren't of age, are ushered out through a passageway in the Room of Requirement.

All the D.A. members sneak back in, even the fourteen-year-olds. They've spent this whole school year teaching themselves Defense and learning Dark Arts from the Carrows. They're ready to fight, and Morag is terrified, but she stays. She's not going to be a coward, not after this year. She's come into her own this year, decided for herself what she wanted to do, and tonight she'll prove it.

People fall. D.A. members fall. Su, Kevin, and Mandy are all struck down. Morag sees them die by the hands of Death Eaters, and she fights through her tears. There's no time to grieve in the middle of a battle. She knows that sometime afterwards - if she survives - she'll collapse and sob for three of her best friends. She'll cry for the other D.A. members, and for the other people who fought against them.

There's no time for that now. She fights, and she does what she has to, because dammit, she doesn't want to die.

She dodges Death Eaters' spells and returns curses of her own, firing off the first thing that comes to her mind whether it is offensive or defensive. She runs and dodges and leaps over people's bodies and somehow, some way, she's standing in the Great Hall when Harry Potter defeats Voldemort.

A small, tiny part of her wants to laugh, because once again, Harry Potter is in the middle of everything. It happened again.

o0o0o0o0o

She sits in the Great Hall with Padma, Michael, Anthony, and Terry next to her. They all survived the battle with only minor injuries. There's something missing, with three of them dead, but there's still an overwhelming sense of relief in the air because they're alive. They survived.

Morag doesn't know what happens next. She doesn't know whether she'll have to repeat her seventh year, if she'll have to take her NEWTs next month, if she'll even be accepted in the Auror Office.

Now, though, she knows what she wants, and she won't be afraid to go for it. She thinks back to her younger years at Hogwarts, how she was tempted to be an Auror even then, but was too scared to even think about fulfilling that wish.

Everything has changed since then.


End file.
